I’m going to be a bit extreme but it did work for me in the beginning. When I was growing up the dad of one of my friends died, he was in his early 40s, he was at the local leisure centre, he had a sudden heart attack and couldn’t be revived. He was fit and healthy.

I was now in my early 40s, I was obese, one of the things you will learn about me is that I will use that word, I’m honest in that way, it helps actually to use it, there is a degree of awakening and yes shame. There is a reality about being big that people seemed to be scared to talk about, maybe if we did, getting motivated to lose the weight and get fit would be easier. The reality is that being severely overweight and unfit will potentially shorten our lives and brings with it a whole host of problems.

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I already had some health problems, I had torn my cruciate ligament in my knee, it was a bother, however due to being obese the NHS could see little point in replacing it. I was petrified every time I went to the doctor for anything, that they would want to take my blood pressure and it would be off the scale. Before an initial surgery on my knee I honestly thought they would take my blood pressure and send me home because it was too high.

I suffered dreadfully with my feet, they would swell if I walked too far or if the weather was hot, I would end up with feet covered in blisters no matter what shoes I wore. It ruined holidays and effectively made me a recluse during the summer months. While it was hot as well, I was so self-conscious that I needed to be covered, so I was always overheated, sweaty and red-faced.

While putting on the weight I had developed a lot of stretch marks, some had faded over time, but the fact I had them on my upper arms wasn’t nice and of course added to my lack of self-esteem.

There are more intimate things too – a woman’s pelvic floor is actually very delicate, the pressure of the extra weight led to stress incontinence and that is horrible for someone in her 30s to have to deal with. I avoided having a relationship.

I would get out of breath easily, I remember being in Norfolk on holiday once and to get to the beach you had to climb up sand dunes, I could barely do it, it took forever and was excruciatingly embarrassing. After one day I didn’t go back again. I also only went to one knee rehab physio session after the first op I had, I couldn’t do much of it, it was nothing to do with my knee injury, I was too big and too unfit.

What ended up being the motivator was the fear that I was getting bigger, the problems were increasing, I did get scared that perhaps something more serious would emerge, or that I’d not be able to get help because I was too big or I would be too ashamed to ask for it. I worried about sitting on chairs and breaking them or getting stuck somewhere. It had got out of hand. I couldn’t watch TV programmes about fat people, it was too close to my reality.

Of course my head was firmly in the sand for years while this was happening. But I was getting older, I couldn’t hide forever and do nothing, I was hiding the issues from my friends and family and yes I was getting depressed?

So what are you waiting for? The heart attack, the stroke, breaking a chair, not being able to keep up with the kids, not finding clothes that fit, having problems with relationships – the list is endless?

Don’t wait until you get the scare of your life, make the change to doing something about it forever and now. My motivator now is knowing what life is like now as a fit and healthy person, going back is not an option in any way because I know what it was like back then. My new life is wonderful. Hopefully in what I’ve shared you’ll recognise yourself in some way, my story isn’t unusual but I am prepared to talk about it. If you need to talk about it then contact me, I can help.

And if you are still saying you ‘can’t do it’ because you’ve tried before and failed, I can help, if you’ve never managed to sustain any weight loss after being on a diet then diets don’t work for you, try a different approach, it can be done, trust me, if I can do it anyone can.

Do it for your family, the people who love you and most importantly for yourself. So what are you waiting for?